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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive security raid in the metropolitan area has described how local people came back with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness stated. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual was found without a head - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation in the city.

Bruno Itan reported that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by local people living in Alemão, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and declared: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, reported he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He described during the night, area inhabitants commenced searching the mountainous area that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for family members who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area organized the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the response of those present.

"The harsh reality of the situation affected me profoundly: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The governor of the state declared that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was aimed at preventing a criminal group known as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, local officials stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the final tally of people killed to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory across the region.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, alongside a rival criminal group, and has a history extending half a century.

Based on correspondent Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and serving as "business partners".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, precious metals, energy resources, liquor cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the region, the political leader, described gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified".

At a news conference the following day, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He continued that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The official also said that the casualties displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he said that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse